Throughout Temple’s season, key starters like Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Steve Settle III have been the heart of the team’s high-powered offense. Although they’ve carried the bulk of the load, the Owls have relied heavily on their bench to pull them out of offensive funks.
Head coach Adam Fisher cultivated his roster in the offseason to consist of all-around players who can impact winning in different facets of the game. Through the first half of the season, his effort to create a deeper lineup has been successful. Temple’s lineup includes multiple players who can be subbed in to create offensive opportunities, grab rebounds, defend and score.
The second unit has quickly established itself as the Owls’ backbone this season. Most of the success has come from its backcourt, which has helped the team jump out to a 12-6 record. Players like guards Zion Stanford and Shane Dezonie and forward Elijah Gray have each taken the role as the team’s primary scorer at times when coming off the bench.
“[The bench has] been huge for us,” Fisher said. “We need to have that lift off the bench, where our play goes up, our competitiveness goes up and guys that you can rely on and we’ll continue to utilize the bench. They’ve done a really nice job of bringing up our energy and coming in and knowing what we’re doing so that we don’t miss a beat.”
Before the season even tipped off, guard Lynn Greer III was handed a nine-game suspension from the NCAA for an incident that happened while attending Saint Joseph’s and Gray missed time while in concussion protocol. The circumstances forced Temple to dip into its depth immediately. The Owls have endured even more injuries since then, which has allowed the bench even more opportunities to shine.
The main beneficiary has been Stanford, whose role has fluctuated between starting and coming off the bench. The sophomore has served as the anchor of the second unit and a spark when the starters are ineffective.
“My mindset is just to get in and make an immediate impact,” Stanford said. “No matter how much time I get, just any time that I step on the floor, just trying to do the best for my team and do whatever my team needs me to do, whatever my coach needs me to do.”
Mashburn, who leads the Owls and is second in the American Athletic Conference in points per game, is often the first player on opponents’ scouting reports. With teams double-teaming and trapping Mashburn, other players have stepped up and taken the scoring responsibilities.
Temple has a guard-heavy roster which has been an issue when facing opponents that attack the paint. Settle has held his own against most opposing forwards, but Fisher leaned into playing his forwards and taller guards for extended periods during these matchups. The hope has been to use their length to create turnovers.
Forward Babatunde Durodola has gotten into foul trouble quickly in multiple games and has had to be pulled early. Gray missed the first three games with an injury but has frequently been the one to step up in those situations and help bail the Owls out in Durodola’s place.
Dezonie has also provided aid in a log-jammed guard lineup. When coming off the bench, he averages seven points, 1.2 steals and three rebounds per game, including a career-high 15 during Temple’s narrow 73-70 win against Rice on Jan. 11. The senior has scored in double figures for seven consecutive games and recorded a double-double in two games in points and rebounds. He was also a key contributor in the Owls’ 88-81 upset win against No. 18 Memphis on Jan. 16
Dezonie hasn’t been the only guard to gain steam during the course of the season. After speculation of possibly redshirting, guard Aiden Tobiason has been a breath of fresh air for the Owls. The freshman saw just seven minutes of action prior to Temple’s 94-65 loss to Villanova on Dec. 7, but he burst onto the scene following his five-steal performance against the Wildcats. He followed it up by dropping 18 points in his first career start against Holy Family on Dec. 10.
“I feel like I played with high energy,” Tobiason said. “I do feel like I have to kind of figure out my role in defense. I’m a good guy that can pick up the ball full court, but also feel like I have to get better at the defensive coverages that we do.”
Using the bench to its full extent has been beneficial for Temple and allows them to switch things up when needed. With March on the horizon, Temple is hoping its second unit can continue to step up to end an almost six-year postseason drought.
“When we practice, our practice is competitive,” Fisher said. “You mix up the teams, you don’t know who’s the starters, who’s not the starters, which is how I think it should be. Knowing that we have that depth and things to take us where we want to go is really important as we go into March.”
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